Kasumi the Vampire Slayer
by Gibelyou
Summary: Kasumi Tendo never expected to become the one and only Slayer.
1. Chapter 1

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Kasumi the Vampire slayer

Kasumi Tendo walked down the streets of Nerima ward in her normal calm and graceful manner. Unexpected guests had arrived at the Tendo household and a quick trip to the market had been needed in order to provide the normal tea service for everyone. She had been planning on restocking the pantry tomorrow but Father's friends had been very hungry. It seemed such a shame to miss out on the excitement that guests provided, even if it was only for long enough to be a proper hostess. Perhaps she should ask Akane to go shopping next time, although if she did go she might want to prepare the snack as well, and…

The darkness of the alley she had passed seemed to fill with malevolent energy and a cold shiver passed down her spine. Something was lurking in the night, something unnatural. Curiously unworried by this she peered into the blackness of the alley trying to see what was causing the feelings.

While not an active practitioner of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, Kasumi had done some basic training when she was a child. Fond memories of spending time in the dojo with Mother and Father practicing slow meditative katas were some of the happiest of her early childhood, overshadowed only by following Mother around the house helping with the daily chores. It was the echoes of this long ago training that let her feel the arm reaching for her out of the alleyway. Stronger and faster than anything she had ever felt, the arm pulled her roughly into the shadows.

The arm was joined by another, and together they held her close to the body they were attached to. The feeling of wrongness intensified as she stared, transfixed, at the face of her attacker. The short black hair was set over an angular face with a wide mouth set in an awful smirk. Struggling against his arms quickly proved futile, and Kasumi's fear rose. 'Odd that it took until now to be afraid', she remarked to herself. 'I wish Father was here to rescue me.'

Suddenly it occurred to her that she could try to fight. 'Now where did that come from?' she asked herself. Shaking the thought off she swept her arms up and inside his grip to break his hold on her shoulders. To her utter amazement the move worked, but her shock prevented her from making any use of the opening she had just created. Further shocking the girl was her opponent's face. What had once before been a normal, if very mean looking, human had become something…else. Prominent eyebrow ridged topped suddenly yellow eyes. His opened mouth showed pointed teeth that could only be described as fangs. A fresh wave of terror struck as a voice in the back of her head whispered 'Vampire'.

Before she had time to question how she knew this, he was on her. Slammed up against the alley wall, Kasumi was lifted off the ground with one hand as the other landed several devastating punches to her abdomen. Repressing a sudden feeling of nausea, Kasumi kicked out with her right leg. Feeling a solid impact the Brunette was rewarded with a brief grimace of pain from her tormentor. Quick hand chops to his neck weakened his grip enough to allow her to twist free of his grip. Reacting with a speed she had never known before, Kasumi crouched low to the ground and threw herself to one side. Rolling clear of the Larger Vampire's legs, she grabbed a broken slat from a wooden crate. Attempting to come out of the roll on her feet, Kasumi was instead grabbed again by her opponent's powerful hands. Struggling to free the arm with her weapon she tried to throw the larger heavier man off balance. His grip tightened as she was lifted clear of the ground and he licked his fangs menacingly. He leaned forwards and whispered into her ear, "Not good enough, slayer." Sudden movement and a pain at her neck and it was happening. Her struggles weakened as he drank, and quickly stopped altogether.

Bolting upright with a gasp, Kasumi Tendo clasped her hands to her heart in an attempt to slow it's racing pace. Taking deep breaths to reassure herself that she still could, she nervously blurted out the first thing that came to her mind, "Oh, my!"


	2. Episode 1 Part 1

The End User Enjoyment Agreement detailed in the prologue is still in effect.

Kasumi the Vampire Slayer. Episode 1 part 1.

There are few immutable things in our world. The government will tax it's citizenry, everything dies, and the sun rises in the east. That this will never change did not comfort Nabiki Tendo in the slightest when she woke to her alarm clock that morning. To be fair it didn't help any other morning either. With a yawn and a stretch the slender brunette crawled out of bed and shuffled out in her pajamas on the way to the kitchen. Caffeine must be secured. Thank god for her sister Kasumi. She always had a pot of Coffee ready for her by this time, and was usually well along on breakfast. She would have to remember to do something nice...nice and anonymous...she had an image to maintain after all.

Truth be told she did at times wish she didn't have to put such a lock on her emotions, but after mother had died it had become so comfortable to not let herself feel. Then when father couldn't handle teaching without mother by his side she had to find a way to keep what was left afloat. Nobody else knew about what she did to keep the dojo running these days. If she had her way they never would find out.

Emerging from her thoughts in front of the coffee maker, Nabiki was momentarily puzzled to find that it was empty and off. Brain deciding it could start working at least until the coffee problem was fixed she blinked and took in the room. Stove? on. Kasumi? Standing in front of the counter with the vegetables partially chopped. Not moving. Upon closer inspection, as her sister stood there she was breathing with her eyes closed. Sleep-cooking?

Deciding that this could not be safe in any way, Nabiki moved to take the knife from her sister's hands when suddenly it had moved, arm and all, to her throat. Several things ran through Nabiki's mind at this point, words both demanding to know what was going on and begging the Kami to not let her die combined in her mind and forced themselves out as a very loud, "EEP!" The sound seemed to rouse her slumbering sister, who blinked twice before looking at the kitchen knife she was holding against her little sister's neck.

Eyes widening, The eldest sister dropped the knife hurriedly, "Oh, my! I am so sorry Nabiki, I don't know what happened. I was making breakfast and then you were there." A quick inspection showed no damage had been done. Thanking Tofu-sensei in her mind for loaning her all those medical books she picked up her knife and turned back to the chopping. Smooth motions completed her task with a calmness that was only given away as false by the bags under her eyes.

Nabiki was not reassured by the act her sister was putting on. There was Something Wrong. As this was Kasumi, she decided the direct approach would be best. Fumbling with the coffeemaker to lend an air of casualness, she arched an eyebrow towards her sister and asked, "Trouble sleeping?"

Crestfallen, Kasumi turned to the only other person in the house who seemed to notice these things and sighed, "Is it that obvious? I'm sorry, at this rate I'll be lucky to have lunches ready before you go to school." Seeing this obviously distressed her, Nabiki decided she could intimidate a lunch out of one of the boys. She did have new pictures to sell to Kuno-baby. She could probably get a lunch out of that in addition to her normal fee.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure we can fend for ourselves for a day." A sly look drew her eyes into a sidelong glance at the eldest, "Perhaps you should go see Dr. Tofu?" The blush on Kasumi's face could have heated the house on a winter's day.

Doctor Tofu Ono had been the Tendo family physician for many years. Officially a chiropractor, he was a capable martial artist in his own right and was the first choice for many of the local dojos for non-emergency medicine. Embracing the concepts of so-called "Alternative" medicine he could often produce results a hospital could not for simple injuries. Bones still took time to mend, bruises would still hurt, and at times he would still have to bandage burns but everything healed faster with his ability to stimulate the bodies natural healing abilities.

He had also caught the eye of Kasumi Tendo a few years ago and while she would never initiate anything on her own, thinking it most improper, she wouldn't object in the slightest if he asked. He always seemed to start acting silly when she visited however. It was most frustrating to feel jealous of a skeleton when he would take "Betty" dancing through the clinic. And then there were the dreams where she was dancing with the Doctor, and they would get closer...and closer...and then she would, 'BAD THOUGHTS, BAD THOUGHTS! You don't have time for that now your family needs you!' Kasumi's blush continued to burn as she turned back to her kitchen tasks, "I think I will, although I don't want to be a bother I think I can spare some time before lunch."

Nabiki's grin spread wide as she finally got her morning coffee, hoping that her sister would be alright. She did so hate having to do this herself after all.

* * *

Doctor Tofu's clinic was a small office located at the edge of the residential zone of the Nerima ward. Having inherited the practice from his father when he died, it was well established in the community. Most of his regular patients were older, as they were most in need of chiropractic medicine. He was a fully licensed doctor and could perform the full range of medical services of course, but his father had never gone beyond the old remedies. His hybrid style of medicine appealed to the Nerimians, mixing the old and the new much like some of the odder martial arts schools.

It was therefore something of a surprise to find that there were no patients to be found that morning when Kasumi decided to visit. Still feeling off from the last two weeks of strange dreams she forced her face into her normal bright smile. Tired though she may be it was never an excuse to not be polite. Stepping inside the front office of the clinic she beamed widely at the receptionist. Maya Hono was only a few years older than Kasumi, but seemed to have a never-ending well of cheerful energy. The two had shared tea many times when Kasumi returned or borrowed texts from Doctor Tofu's personal library. While not so close as to have spent much time together outside of encounters at the clinic she thought of the receptionist as a good friend. "Welcome to the Tofu Clinic, how can we help you Kasumi?" The energy put out by Maya was almost palpable.

Feeling somewhat better just from the greeting, Kasumi glanced at the empty waiting are and replied, "Good morning Maya, I was hoping Dr. Tofu had some free time today. I need to ask him a few questions." Kasumi hoped that would be enough to get her some time without causing her friend to worry overmuch. She didn't want to be a bother after all.

"Actually it's been a light morning, I can have you wait here or would you like a room?" Gesturing at the waiting chairs and then to one of the rooms behind her Maya stood from her chair and came out from behind her desk. Heading for the tea service at the side table she poured Kasumi a cup and handed it to her.

Taking the tea gracefully, Kasumi nodded, "Oh thank you. I think I will just wait here. We haven't had a chance to visit recently. How have you been lately?" Sitting in one of the chairs provided for waiting patients, Kasumi blew softly on her tea while she watched Maya pour herself a cup and sit next to her.

Taking a moment to stare into her tea, the black haired woman's face took on a drawn look. In a soft voice she spoke, "They still haven't found Yoshiro. It's been three months since he disappeared." Looking over at Kasumi her eyes began to water, "Father is talking about holding a funeral. I don't want to believe he is dead, but there has been nothing to go on for so long." Silent tears begin to fall, looking out of place on the face that had been filled with joy for so many years.

Setting her tea to one side, Kasumi hugged the other woman closely, "Shh, Maya. It will be alright. Your brother is out there. The police will find him, I'm sure of it." Words of hope, delivered in all earnestness, seemed only to be ignored as the older woman sought comfort. A minute or two later, her control returns and she withdraws from the embrace. Returning to her cheerful demeanor, Maya sets her cup of tea to one side as well and wiped her eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry Kasumi, here I go troubling you when you needed to see the Doctor. Please wait in room three, you know the way. I need to freshen up." Maya headed in to the adjoining restroom. Kasumi took her tea with her into the exam room and sat patiently in the chair provided.

Not long after the tea was finished Dr. Tofu entered the room. His tall, lean frame was somewhat obscured by the lab coat he wore. Thin glasses on his face reflecting the white from the clipboard he was carrying. After a brief pause seeing who was in the chair he closed the door behind him and spoke. "K-Kasumi," he stammered, with obvious nervousness, "What brings y-you here?" He seemed to be fighting for control over his arms, twitching ever so slightly in the direction of the hanging skeleton in the corner of the room.

Standing to greet the doctor, Kasumi's soft tones seemed to raise his nerves higher as she spoke, "I'm afraid I have been having trouble sleeping at night. It has gotten so bad I fell asleep in the kitchen this morning."

Seeming to marshal his reserves of calm, Dr. Tofu motioned for Kasumi to sit on the examination table in the center of the room. As she did so he began to ask questions, "What exactly seems to be interrupting your sleep?"

Sitting on the exam table, Kasumi replied, "I have been having the strangest dreams. They are so disturbing I find it impossible to return to sleep most nights."

An expression of resignation takes over the doctor's face, "I know this might seem a little odd, but what exactly are you dreaming about Kasumi?"

Not wanting to be to detailed, not out of any need to spare the good doctor the details but more out of not wanting to think on it too much herself, Kasumi began to relay the outlines to her dreams. They all seemed to follow a familiar pattern, people in danger from creatures out of myths and legends. As she spoke Dr. Tofu's face continued to fall until at the end he appeared to be almost in mourning himself.

Finally he raised his head and looked into her eyes, "I had such hopes that this would pass you by Kasumi, I am so sorry. There is a reason you have been having these dreams. Last week I received word that the last Slayer was confirmed deceased. It seems the mantle has passed to you." Seeing the expression of complete incomprehension, Dr. Tofu began the time honored speech, "Into each generation is born the Slayer. One girl in all the world who is given the power to battle the forces of evil. It seems that you were chosen to replace the slayer that fell in Germany."

Kasumi was having a bit of trouble wrapping her head around this. For the last nine years, she had been keeping up her home in the absence of her mother. She had never taken to the Art as her sister had, but now she was supposed to be a mystical warrior...wait...she just became a Magical Girl! "Oh, my. I hope I don't have to wear one of those silly outfits from manga."

* * *

The conversation was a long one. The doctor had cleared his schedule for the afternoon and sent Maya home for the day. What followed was hours of explanations about what a Slayer was, what Watchers were, and how their battles were fought. It was a lot to take in. 'At least he gave me a handbook to read up on.' she mused. Following the path home without really seeing where she was going, she sighed.

It wasn't just her new role as a magical girl she had to think about either. Dr. Tofu was now her Watcher. She supposed a doctor, especially a handsome one like Tofu, was better than a talking animal. At least this way she could have a conversation without trying not to look like she was talking to herself. He still didn't seem to pick up on her hints however. Ahh well, since he would be training her in her new abilities she would be around him much more at least.

It was too bad she couldn't use the Dojo to practice however. It would be ever so much more convenient to practice at home, but true to tradition, being a Magical Girl was supposed to be a secret. It was strange though. She had thought Magical Girls were supposed to have more...magic to them. What she had was more like a magical boost to a Martial Artist. 'Maybe I should try to get father to teach me again. It would be ever so helpful.' the thought then popped into her head about asking her youngest sister Akane for help, 'She does fight with all those boys before school. She could probably help me. Oh, if only I could tell her!'

Pushing her own desires aside, simple after long years of practice, Kasumi made the turn for the local market. Talking with Dr. Tofu had taken longer than she had ever thought it would and she was going to be late with dinner as it was. She had to finish the shopping, her family needed her.

* * *

Dinner that evening was a simple Yakisoba stir-fry with chicken. It was, of course, very good. Nobody noticed that it was a tad rushed, or that it wasn't quite up to Kasumi's usual standards. Everyone seemed to be wrapped up in their own problems that evening.

Kasumi was fine with a quiet meal, to her it simply meant that the meal was enjoyed and that no problems had arisen over the course of the day that needed to be discussed. Of course, her news couldn't be discussed at all. It suddenly occurred to her to wonder what things happened to her family that couldn't be talked about like that. Chewing slowly, she turned to look at her sisters in turn. Nabiki had a neutral expression on her face, looking like the world as a whole did not impress her in any way. She had gotten very good at this look over the years. 'I wish she didn't do that at home, I miss spending time with her.' Akane, the youngest of the three sisters, was a shorter, leaner, and stronger version of their mother. There was even time for her to grow the rest of the way, although the blue hair had come completely out of nowhere. Her face was currently a rigid calmed expression that poorly hid the anger, shame, and depression that lurked beneath.

Kasumi really didn't know how to help her baby sister. That kind of pain was not healthy for her, but all of Dr. Tofu's books couldn't help when Akane didn't ask for it. Fiercely independent, she believed that she could handle anything. It seemed that one thing she couldn't handle was how to make rude boys understand that "No" meant NO. From what Nabiki had said there were a large number of boys that were after her sister's company. It was a shame none of them tried to be her friend first. That Kunou boy was just plain trouble. 'While I'm sure Akane appreciates the practice, I think the situation is getting out of hand. I really must remember to ask Nabiki to help stop all that nonsense.'

Turning her attention to her father, she saw that he had a contemplative look on his face as he regarded his meal. After a minute or so of him not eating Kasumi began to worry that she had done something wrong with the meal. Finishing her bite, she decided to break the silence, "Father, is everything alright? You are not eating." Stirring from his distracted state, he seemed to notice that all eyes were now on him.

"I'm sorry Kasumi, it is wonderful as always. I'm just concerned by something I overheard at the Council meeting last night. It's nothing you need to worry about." His face schooled into a weak smile as he tried, very unsuccessfully, to hide his thoughts from his daughters, "Just some young punks making trouble downtown. I'm sure the police will sort it out." Kasumi was oddly torn by what she had just heard. Was this the sort of thing she should be paying attention to now that she was a Magical Girl? She supposed that she had no evidence that it was vampires, so she really didn't think she was supposed to do anything about it. Besides, father had just said the police were taking care of it. Satisfied with her decision, she turned back to her own dinner and continued to eat. She would check with Dr. Tofu during her first training session.

* * *

Later that evening, after the household chores had been completed of course, Kasumi sat in her room and read the Slayer handbook.

_The Vampire tends to hunt alone when young. Trust between equals is rare, with most groupings following the master-servant relationship. If you do encounter a large nest, slaying the leader first will usually cause the lesser vampires to lose effectiveness in combat/ some will rum, and others will turn on each other looking to remove opposition to becoming a leader themselves. _

_ The master vampire will tend to be the most powerful, but on occasion it has been known to be the most intelligent. This is by far the least frequent situation as vampires are prone to power struggles within the ranks and strength is usually the deciding factor here. _

'Oh, dear. This does sound more dangerous than it seems on Television.' Kasumi closed the book and placed it on her desk, 'I wonder why they seem so taken with the idea that I have to fight alone. I bet Akane would be better at this than I would.' A small sigh escaped her at this thought, saddened that she could not share this exciting new part of her life with those she loved. On the brighter side, she had a very good reason to spend time with Dr. Tofu. Now all she needed was a reason to tell the rest of the family. It would be so much simpler to tell them the truth. Well Nabiki at least, and probably Akane could handle it. Father might not react so well to the idea of her fighting...well anything really.

'That's another thing, this book seems very focused on Vampires, but Dr. Tofu said there are so many things that would be attracted to this "Hell-mouth" thing. I'm surprised we have not seen it before. You'd think these sorts of creatures would be noticed.' Thoughts interrupted by a yawn, Kasumi decided to save her thoughts for the next conversation with Dr. Tofu. Changing into her nightgown, she hummed a tune as she settled in for the night.


	3. Episode 1 Part 2

End User Enjoyment Agreement is still in effect.

Episode 1 Part 2

Kasumi woke feeling better than she had in weeks. The dreams that had plagued her sleep had been noticeably absent that night. Giving a brief thought of thanks to the kami, she rose from her bed and began her morning routine. It wasn't until she had started preparing breakfast that she noticed that she had been moving faster than normal that morning, and was a good ten minutes ahead of schedule. Shrugging it off as unimportant, she continued to stir the morning pot of Miso soup. It would be good to get ahead on the chores if she wanted to free up time for the training Dr. Tofu wanted to talk about today. Their talk the day before had been taken up with a discussion of what had happened, and today he was going to tell her what was to be done about it.

Not that she was really upset. This was the most exciting thing that had happened since that Kuno boy had made his little speech last year. At least this had happened when she was almost done with her promise. In just a few short years Akane would graduate, and she could start a life of her own. Go to school herself, marry a nice man, and after a few years have children of her own. She had plenty of practice at least.

A soft ping to her left let her know the rice was prepared, and after checking that everything was ready she went upstairs to drag Nabiki out of bed again. It was a shame her alarm couldn't always manage it. 'Oh well, at least it is one more time I get to see her without her mask on.'

Knocking firmly on her sister's door generated no response, so she opened the door and went inside. One glance at the bed showed that her sister had already woken up and left the room. 'Thats odd, I never heard her come in for coffee. I wonder what happened.' Kasumi mused to herself.

Putting that thought to one side for the moment, she continued down the hall to Akane's room. Her knock resulted in a quick "Changing!" from her sister.

"Thats fine Akane, I just wanted to tell you that breakfast is ready. Would you please tell Father and Nabiki for me, she wasn't in her room. I need to get back to the food or I would look for her myself." Kasumi waited long enough to hear the "Okay!" through the door before she turned and headed back downstairs.

Breakfast itself was fast; with Nabiki still missing and Akane eating quickly so she would not be late to school. Nabiki's absence was a little worrying, but she knew from the handbook that vampires couldn't come inside unless invited. This meant she was probably just meeting with her friends early that day. It had happened before, but usually she left a note for Kasumi so as not to worry her. Nabiki didn't know about the vampires, but she did know how to read people. She would probably spot them and know to run.

Distracted by her thoughts she didn't notice Akane leaving for school. Her routine of cleaning up after breakfast was disturbed twice by a broken dish before she remembered to focus on what she was doing. It would seem there was a down side to the whole slayer strength thing. When she finished she looked at the clock and nodded in satisfaction It was time to get ready for the first day of training. After packing a set of workout clothes into a small bag she headed out. As she left she called to her father in the other room, "I'm going to be gone for the morning father, I left you some lunch in the refrigerator." Her only reply a grunt, she left for Dr. Tofu's clinic.

* * *

Dr. Tofu had converted his storage room into the training area. Not as spacious as a dojo would be, but it would be big enough for one-on-one training. The hard part would be keeping his receptionist from finding out what was going on. Granted she was usually busy with patients, but one slow day at the wrong time could out the Slayer, and that simply was not to be allowed. Everything he had seen in the council's journals and records stated that an exposed slayer was not long for this world. A watcher who allowed this to happen was dismissed from service and the slayer relocated.

In many cases the potential slayer was removed from the parents and trained in secret. This practice, while not universal, showed a marked increase in projected lifespan and effectiveness of the slayers it was used on. It had, in fact, been concidered in Kasumi's case. Shortly after she was identified as a potential however, her mother died of a degenerative illness. It was decided that for the mental health of the potential, removal from the home was not advisable at that time. Dr. Tofu had therefore been assigned to watch the family from a remove in case she was activated.

She had almost made it too. The magic behind the slayer line was not completely understood. Nobody could predict with any accuracy who would be called when the current slayer died. Nobody was sure why girls became potentials. To be prefectly honest, it was almost trial and error to identify them once they became potentials in the first place. The answers were lost in the untold histories before the watcher's council took it upon themselves to train slayers in their holy mission. It was too bad really, as understanding the creation of the Slayer would no doubt help him in figuring out how to train a calm and happy homemaker into something that would survive the rigors of Slaying.

A quiet buzzing inturrupted Dr. Tofu's thoughts as his next patient was announced. With a brief look at the wall in the direction of the storage room he rose from his desk to treat Mrs. Tanaka's arthritis.

* * *

Kasumi was no stranger to hard work. Half of a lifetime spent on the various tasks involved in household maintenance had given her both a supreme work ethic and a determination to finish the job in front of her. Applying the same dogged resolve to her training session had proven to be second nature to her. After running through several exercises that would show Dr. Tofu her current level of skill (which was higher than he had expected), he began to demonstrate what he wanted her to practice while he tended to his morning patients.

The handbook had quite a bit to say on the subject of training a slayer. It seemed that while a slayer could increase her strength and speed from training, the primary purpose was control. Driving a stake through the chest of a vampire didn't help if you missed the heart after all... Since Dr. Tofu had decided that their first patrol would be that night, control of her new abilities was the focus of the day.

Sweat glistened on Kasumi's forehead as she leapt forward to the target. She was beginning to have second thoughts about the wisdom of leaping at the stuffed dummy when she missed the marker that indicated the heart by almost twenty centimetres. 'Perhaps,' she thought, 'I shouldn't try so hard to make it look like an anime. Akane never did anything like this the first day of her training. I should stick to the simple moves.'

It was strange to be able to do things that, until yesterday, were the realm of her youngest sister and her father. To Kasumi, Akane's sheer strength was beyond belief. It worried her quite a bit actually, as this was not how the magical girl stories went. She wasn't supposed to be turning into a fighter, there were supposed to be cute animals and beautiful costumes. Clearly, nothing like that was going to happen and it was shaking her confidence in the whole idea.

Would the heroine not always win in the end?

Shaking off those depressing thoughts for a more optimistic outlook, she reflected that one thing all magical girl anime had in common was a main character that never gave up. If she never gave up, then everything would work out for her at least. Giving herself a firm nod, she picked up her stake and tried again.

* * *

Nerima, being a suburb, did not have it's own roaring nightlife. It was in most respects a quiet community; the obvious exceptions to this quiet were the local Martial Arts themed contests and events that had cropped up over the years. Most high level martial artists tended to either shun the presence of others or gather with like minded individuals. In this way they are no different from the rest of humanity in building a community around a common activity. The primary influence here however is that most Martial Arts tend to encourage early mornings rather than late nights. It also had the happy effect of making it a poor hunting grounds for vampires.

Most people, had they known, would have taken the lack of a local undead infestation to be a good thing. Indeed, Dr. Tofu felt that the lack of a large undead presence would only be a good thing as far as making Nerima a secure base of operations. It did mean, however, that they would have to travel to another district to find the majority of their prey. This lead Kasumi and her watcher to ride the train to Shinjuku to wander the streets in search of the forces of darkness.

A slight change in the original plan had come when Kasumi revealed that her wardrobe did not exactly contain anything appropriate to the evening's activities. Almost everything in Kasumi's closet was for daywear, her normal routine involved nothing more exciting than going to the local farmer's market. Slaying, even a light training patrol like there was to be tonight, would require some changes in this regard. The workout clothes Kasumi had used for training wouldn't do in public, and she didn't think she could fight in her standard housedress. A long dormant train of thought had raised itself that afternoon. Kasumi would have to go shopping for clothes. In the meantime, She would make do with her best blouse and skirt. Not ideal for fighting, but at least good enough to be seen in public with.

The stake she had been handed when she met Dr. Tofu at the station was another problem. Her clothes had no pockets, and her small purse would not conceal the weapon. Feeling disappointed that she had once again been unprepared for her new role she vowed to make sure she was never again without a place to carry her stake.

The train car, only being about half full, she decided this would allow her the perfect time to see if the Slayer's handbook had any advice on proper slaying attire. It wasn't very helpful. She had noticed, at times, that the handbook was written making certain assumptions. First, that the slayer in question had effectively been raised by her watcher. Second, that both slayer and watcher lived in the early 1800's. Third, that the slayer was living in England. The advice on slayer attire was simply to wear the far more practical men's clothing of the era, unless infiltration of a social setting was needed. Weapons were carried more in the open and questions were simply ignored.

Kasumi supposed that this book must be mostly used for it's hunting and slaying advice. It was far more helpful in this than it was in other things. She had looked up advice on hiding that she was a slayer from her family to find that it never referred to a slayer that still lived with them. Rather, it's advice was centered around meeting someone she had been related to during a mission. This thought was completely foreign to her mind. How could she not live with her family?

'Mother entrusted them to me, I am needed there.'

A light touch on Kasumi's forearm roused her from her thoughts as Dr. Tofu informed her that they had reached their stop. 'Time to be a magical girl.' she mused, as she nodded and rose from her seat.

* * *

It is worth noting that Kasumi's almost unnatural calm did not, as some believed, come from obliviousness. On the contrary, she noticed many details that most people would miss. She had simply devoted herself so completely to the care of her famiily that many of those details were disregarded as unnessicary to the moment. It was instead, from a certainty of her place in life. Walking along the busy streets of Tokyo at night was not a part of this place, or at least not until yesterday. 'Was it only yesterday?' she asked herself as she followed her Watcher down the block. 'It already seems like so long ago. Strange that it isn't more strange.' She giggled softly at that last thought.

Dr. Tofu had lead them past the brightly lit shops and into a darker part of the district. "The vampire stalks its prey where it will not be noticed. A creature of the night, it tries to strike when its target is alone and defenseless. While it may select its victim in a crowd, the kill is almost invariably done in a dark and secluded location. Our task tonight is to find one, and show you what you will face in the future." As her watcher went on about the task ahead, Kasumi's attention was drawn to a small group of youngish men emerging from an allyway. She wasn't sure what it was but something about those people drew her and repelled her at the same time. Suddenly one of them turned her way and she was shocked to see it was Yoshiro! They stared at each other before he turned back and rejoined the group he had been walking with. Shaking herself, she hurried forward to catch up to Dr. Tofu, who had stopped and was watching her with interest.

As she rejoined her watcher, Kasumi felt the strange sensation recede. An uncertain expression on her face, she began speaking before Dr. Tofu could.

"Tofu-Sensei, I'm certain that was Maya's brother back there. We should go after him! She has been ever so worried about him."

Dr. Tofu nodded. A small smile appeared on his face. "I agree we should. If you are right, he might be a target. Lets follow him and see what happens." Turning, the pair backtracked to the last intersection and crossed to the side of the street the young men had traveled. Unsure where the group had gone, Kasumi was trying not to fret as she looked for Yoshiro on the street. She only listened with half an ear as Dr. Tofu began lecturing again. "Slayers do not just hunt with their eyes alone. All your senses are enhanced by the slayer's power. If you focus you can hear a heartbeat across a room, smell the blood of a victim, and feel the chill of the walking dead. Some slayers are said to be able to sense that which is inhuman with a sort of sixth sense, though this is somewhat rare."

Catching sight of Yoshiro outside a dance club she didn't really process this, but when she realized she had seen him clearly from over a block away the realization stunned her. Kasumi's eyes widened slightly as she realized what Dr. Tofu had been saying. "I see him Tofu-sensei, let's go get him. We can finish training another night." Striding off with purpose, Kasumi prepared to give Yoshiro a piece of her mind.

By the time they had reached the dance club, a loud place called Code, Yoshiro wasn't out front. Seeing no-one that would have likely seen him, she decided to enter the club and look for him there. Having never been to a dance club in her life, Kasumi was a bit overwhelmed at the loud music and flashing lights. She could feel the bass thumping in her chest, and the stuffy smell of the smoke machine hung heavy in the air. A small frown of concentration formed on her face as she stepped further inside the club. The dance floor was a mass of moving bodies, gyrating in time to the bass line while arms waved in the air.

Searching across the floor for the smallest sign of her quarry, she was forced to admit she wasn't going to find him without heading further into the club. Her naturally quiet and demure gait combined with the awakened slayer instincts giving her an almost ethereal quality as she navigated the room. She quickly discovered she could slip through small spaces in the crowd while she hunted. Hunting... She didn't really like thinking of it that way, but it was the word that seemed to fit in her mind. Suddenly off to her left she saw one of the jackets that the boys with Yoshiro had been wearing.

'Good,' she thought. 'He should be able to tell me where Yoshiro is.' Now that she had sight of her target, another word she felt bad about using, she Worked her way through the crowd. As she got closer, that odd feeling that had drawn her attention to the boys in the first place started to reappear. Deciding she definitely had to ask Tofu-sensei about it later, she walked up behind the boy and tapped him on the shoulder.

The boy had been chatting with a young, pretty girl in a colorful dress. He was a good head taller than the girl; in fact he was a little taller than Kasumi herself. He was dressed nice but not fancy, almost as if he expected his clothes to see some wear. Grey slacks and jacket over a yellow shirt. His face had formed a scowl as he turned to see who had interrupted him. He looked over Kasumi like a piece of meat, an eyebrow raised. "Can I help you?" His voice was a comfortable baritone, but its tone was ice cold. He was obviously trying to get rid of her.

Undaunted, Kasumi looked him in the eyes and brought up the familiar mask of the smiling homemaker. "Oh yes, you can! I saw you on the street with Yoshiro a little while ago. I know his sister and she is ever so worried about him. He hasn't called or written in so long. Could you take me to him?"

The man's eyes narrowed at the mention of Yoshiro's name, but it was a small thing. A calculating look crossed his face, "Who is asking? You will have to excuse me but Yoshiro never mentioned having a sister to me. I think you are mistaken." His eyes shifted back to the girl he had been talking to before and back to Kasumi. His gaze intensified, as if he was trying to see into her soul.

Kasumi, having seen Nabiki do the same thing, was not intimidated in the least. In fact, her sister probably did it better than this stranger ever could. She stared right back, a little excited at the feelings that had bubbled up under her calm demeanor. 'This must be why Nabiki enjoys it so much,' she mused, 'the matching of wills is a little thrilling.' Outwardly she showed no sign of her thoughts as she smiled brightly, "Oh, I've been rude. My name is Kasumi Tendo and I am a friend of Maya Yamada."

The man nodded as if making a momentous decision and turned to the younger girl. "I am sorry. It seems I have to escort this lady. I hope I can meet you here again." Turning back to Kasumi he motioned toward the side door, "I believe he went out for a bit of fresh air. If you would follow me?" The two walked out the side door and into the alley.


End file.
